In direct laser recording on a recording medium, the conventional laser recording method is only able to perform recording in a single color by exploiting carbonization of the recording medium at a recording position (laser irradiation position) and a color change due to a reaction with a color former.
Disclosed methods include a method of recording a multicolor image by controlling a condensing position of laser light on a film such as a transfer film or a laminate film, or on a plastic object including such a film.
However, the conventional technology requires a plurality of laser light source devices having different wavelengths and a plurality of ultraviolet light irradiation devices to stop color development, which makes it difficult to reduce the cost and size of the device. In addition, changing the condensing position of laser depending on a color developing layer is likely to cause degradation of the quality of a record image because of, for example, distortion and irregularity of the recording medium, and variation in an optical system and the thickness of the color developing layer.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing and provides a laser recording device that performs image recording through scanning with laser light and is capable of achieving a simplified device configuration while maintaining and improving the quality of a record image.